Why Gender Diversity Matters in the Judicial System

Dana Fabe recalled that when she entered law school at North­eastern in 1973, women com­prised more than 50 per­cent of her class, com­pared to only 20 per­cent of law school classes nationally.

Fabe, who deliv­ered the keynote address Friday in Dockser Hall at the eighth annual Women in the Law con­fer­ence, described Northeastern’s School of Law as a “pro­gres­sive pio­neer.” She said that while law schools have made great progress, “the judi­ciary has much catching up to do.” She pointed to sta­tis­tics showing that women make up only about one-third of fed­eral court trial benches, fed­eral courts of appeals judges, and states’ highest courts. Two states—Iowa and Idaho—have no female jus­tices on their highest courts, she added.